Over two years ago I bought a 66 gallon hexagon tank. I had the tank full of fish and plants. It look like the bottom of a lake and was wonderful. Well the better 1/2 spied an Oscar about the size of a quarter and had to have it. So we got it. With in the first year he ATE every thing in the tank. Plants, fish even the sucker fish. The only thing left was a Jack Dempys (how ever you sp it) that the Oscar keep in the corner most of the time as if it was his pet. With in 2 years the Oscar has grown bigger than my hand. I did not mind him eating every thing in the tank because he became a part of the family.

This guy for all reasoning acted like a dog. He would jump for his food. Try to attack the kids thru the glass and play with the air hoses in the tank. He would even play tug a war with me when I cleaned his tank with the scrub brush. We have tried to get sucker fish to clean the tank but he would just eat them. He has ALL ways been an extremely active fish. He reminds me of a two year old all ways getting into every thing and at the same time a bully that would not take any gruff off any thing. Let a rock look at him wrong and he would be all over it.

Well last weekend we went to get him a few feeder fish like we have 100 times before and we decided to 2 larger fish (maybe he would not eat them). Well for the first 3 days they fought like cats and dogs. Then they seemed to settle down and they seemed fine with each other, a few snips here and there but nothing bad, and the best thing is that there was no damage to any of the fish other than a few scrapes. The other fish stayed out of his way and he ruled the tank and seemed happy.

THEN Saturday morning rolled around and I found my Oscar lying on the rocks at the bottom of the tank. Like he had the wind knocked out of him. He was just laying there on his side and he has not been the same since. Every once in a wile he will swim a lap around the tank and go right back to the same spot and lay on his side like he has problems staying up right and needs the rocks to support him self. I have seen him go nose down and tail fin up, to completely upside down like he does not know witch way is up. He stopped eating all together when ever since we have had him he has NEVER missed being right there at the opening of the tank looking for his next meal when I get home from work.

At first I thought maybe he was just pouting he did this once or twice before when he found out that he could not attack our cats. When Sunday rolled around he was not any better at all. But what made me panic is one of the new larger fish that we bought (non Oscar female little smaller than our Oscar) started to do the same thing. Sunday night and both fish where on there side. Strange thing they where lying side by side. I moved up there water change and did it that night it seemed to help a little but by the morning they where right back in the same corner. The other fish is not an Oscar and normally any thing that gets that close to his mouth gets bit including fingers.

I went to the pet shop and the water tested fine, they told me to try “CLOUT”. So I followed the instructions removed the carbon filter and put it in the tank so now the water is blue. The female fish seems to be coming around but the Oscar is still acting the same.

I have 5 kids and the Oscar is a part of the family. I am considering taking off of work and finding some way to take him to the Vet but I am scared that this will just cause more stress to him. First I want to go down and raise hell with the fish store where I bought the fish. Tomorrow when I take the next water sample to the pet store I think I am going to get a new water testing kit. I do my best to spoil my pets including the fish but I do not know what to do. When I went to the pet store today they told me that the water was fine I do not remember what they said the readings where at the time I was about to pull the store clerk over the counter (he was like it is just a fish).

I feed him once a day floating pellets; all he can eat in 30 min and then remove what is left. (When he was eating)
I do not see any damage or growths on him. Matter of fact when the Oscar and the female locked mouths she skinned his nose that has healed.
He is not eating at all.
Not breathing hard.
Other than the female fish none of the other fish are showing any signs yet.
He is not him self at all and just lays there not moving.

I have pics and more info on the tank at:

foribite.com/mysickfish.htm

I hope someone can help before it is to late…

Okay, firstly, knowing what your water quality is is vitally important. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with getting the shop to do it for you, the problem is, you can only go down at certain times to have it checked. I would also suggest you try and get an understanding of the readings you might find in an aquarium that is both set up properly, and has problems, this way, you will be alerted to problems that much quicker. So if you can, get yourself a testing kit. I would advise you to get a Master Kit. This will have ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH. These are the most important ones you need to have.

Water conditions are often the reason why fish start behaving differently so we need to address this first. Oscars do often sit around and do nothing, however, from my experience, they don't do it for long periods of time and you can normally get them to respond to you if you wave your hand in front of the tank when they are sitting motionless. I will certainly play a little bit concerned if an Oscar were to sit their motionless leading to one side for long periods of time, especially if it has stopped eating.

I don't know if you made a typing error but you said that you feed your fish all they can eat in 30 minutes. This is far too long. Three minutes yes, 30 minutes no.

I never used clout before but I googled it and was quite surprised what was written on the tub. Amongst other things, it says it treats listless behaviour, gasping for air, rapid breathing. What is that all about? these type of behaviour are caused by many factors such poor water conditions or something as simple as lack of oxygen in the water. I think this company are misleading people into buying their products when in many cases, they probably aren't necessarily.

Whereas I always encourage people to seek professional medication, I don't think a vet is going to be able to help you just at the moment. But I've already said, get yourself some test kits, let's just see what the water is doing first. If that's perfectly okay, we can move on to the next stage. There are various things you need to look at. Is the fish breathing heavily at all? what I would suggest is don't try and feed it for a couple of days. After a couple of days, drop a couple of pellets in and see if the Oscar responds to them, if it doesn't, don't try anymore.

I would suggest leaving the carbon out of your filters all the time, it really isn't necessary. Have you clean your filtration at all? One other thing, I don't want to worry you unduly but looking at your photograph, it does rather look like your Oscar may have a minor case of hole in the head disease. I couldn't be absolutely sure until I saw a proper photograph taken from the front, or the top but I can definitely see some white marks on the head region.

Okay, that's about all for now, I don't want to bombard you with too much information

I understand the water is important, but at the same time you have to understand that this fish lived in a cooler for two days with nothing but an air rock and still did not act this way (we where moving at the time). Even then when we got to the new house he knocked the lid of the cooler a few times. He has even been thru a tank crash and did not even slow him down. From what I seen this fish could live in soda. This does not mean that I am going to do my best to make sure that the water is as best as possible, but from my experience if the water is bad it takes out the little weaker fish first and works its way up the chain, not takes out the biggest badest fish in the tank then works its way down. That and this fish has never had any problem with the water in 2 years and every time I have taken a sample in to the pet shop every thing was always in the green. He has also been a tank and nothing has ever got the better of him.

As far as hole in the head I have not seen any pits or holes any where on the fish. Not so much as a white mark. The first pic is when he was healthy around 6 moths ago. The light marks on his head or jus the way the light was. As you can see from the 2 nd, 3 rd, and 4 th no white marks or holes. On next to the last one just above the fish tank, the white flake on his back is small rock that the female kicked off a rock on to his back. This is strange thing he has not lost his color or has any marks of any kind on him. Not breathing hard and looks healthy and a model Oscar if you forget the fact that he is laying on his side at the bottom of the tank. If you want more pics I will add some tonight. If I have to I will get the dip net of doom out (so he thinks) and take some close ups for you.

He was big and bold as brass all up until Saturday and it was just like a switch gone off and he went down. Not I am a little bit sick or not feeling well. Sort of like a human losing feeling in there legs, one moment there find next you find them on the floor. It happened so quick I thought something pissed him off and he was just pouting. It was not until a day latter when the female started to do the same thing that I realized something might be wrong.

Yes I said I feed him for 30 min. He suffers from the same thing my 6yr kids do. When you first put the food in he is more interested in seeing how much water he can splash on you, what huge gulping noses he can make at the top of the tank, if he can scatter all the floating pellets all around the tank, and/or wagging his tail like a dog and pretending to attack you thru the glass. That is his play time and interaction time. I indulge him and even show him off to who ever might be home. He seems to enjoy this and then it takes some time for him to settle down before he decides it is time to gobble up the food. Well at lest he did before this started.

He is still not any better this morning but I have noticed the female acting strange. She seems to be trying to keep him upright even if that means laying beside him. Every once in a wile she will push him out of that spot to get him to swim around a little. It as if she is trying to take care of him. She her self is still having the same problems he is just not as bad. She is also being very over protective of the Oscar. She is timed her self but if you go near the corner the Oscar is in she will be right there trying to get in between you and him. I could understand this if she WAS an Oscar but she is not. As far as her mate that came with her she does not want him any where near her and now he hangs out with the Jack Dempsy. I have no idea of what kind of fish she is but I do not think they can be mates.

My kids are starting to get worried about the Oscar and the female.

I have a DDS appointment today and then strait back to the pet store I will post more when I get home.

I didn't realise there were more photos when I clicked on your link, I just looked at the first one and saw the white marks on the head. I can see by the other photos that there doesn't seem to be anything out of order.

The only test kit I know that goes green is ammonia, I hope this isn't the one they were referring to. There may be other ones on the market that do though. Some fish are more resilient to others, and in my experience, they can often withstand very bad water conditions for longer periods than a lot of literature makes out. If your shop sells aquarium pharmaceuticals test kits, get one, they are very good indeed, the best ones I have used so far.

Unfortunately, fish are notoriously difficult to diagnose when something is wrong. If I had a pound for every time someone has had your kind of problem, I would be quite wealthy by now. There isn't really any miracle cure that will make an Oscar start eating again. I have had Oscars in the past that have suddenly gone off their food and then a few days later, they are perfectly okay and eating again. Hopefully your Oscar will do the same. However, speaking from experience again, Oscars are not as hardy as many people would like to think. In fact, I would say that I have had more health problems with Oscars on any other fish I have got, or have kept. I know this doesn't help your situation, I'm just telling you that you are certainly not the first person to have an Oscar that has suddenly gone off its food, it is very very common, believe me. If fish can't keep their balance, there is always the possibility of swim bladder problems. I hope it isn't this condition because in many cases, it is untreatable. The only thing you can do is keep the water in good condition and monitor the situation.

Just had a look at your pics, so here's my 2ct:

What I'd try first to help your Oscar pet would be taking the new fish back, hate to say. As soon as possible.
They quite look like Jaguar cichlids or something to me (Delboy or anyone knows for sure?). Those grow to big monsters and when adult or even breeding, big BAD monsters, too.
Your tank is 66 gal which is small already for fish of that size, but the shape of the tank is an additional disadvantage. Would be better if you had a tank with a large footprint and not so high, so they could establish their territiories.

There might be something wrong with your water or not, but in my eyes, there is a high chance your Oscar is very stressed. I wouldn't swear the female is trying to take care of him, might be as well she's trying to make him go away. So he plays dead to prevent her from getting really violent since he has no way to get out of the tank.
Have you watched the new male, is he bigger than the female? Who won when they were lip-locking? I could imagine he's dominating the tank and the female is next in hierarchy, and your Oscar quite at the end of it. Should they decide to breed even, I'd expect the Oscar to be dead meat.
Could be I'm totally wrong of course, still I don't think it's a great idea to keep together ... they are wonderful fish, but as with any cichlid, it's difficult to put some together and expect them to get along, even less with a pair of something and an odd one. Here 's some info on jags.

In case your Oscar came down with some disease and acting strange due to that, it might still be the others will sense his weakness and take care of the rest.

Hope that helps, just a try, good luck anyway!

funnily enough, I took a photo of my red Oscar this morning, he/she was just sitting there on the bottom of the tank looking totally miserable. You'll get used to Oscar is doing this, they can be lazy Fish that just sit around doing nothing. however like I have already said, I would be concerned if they were motionless for a long period of time. you said that your fish wasn't breathing heavily. I'm glad to hear this. Of all the Oscars I've ever lost through illness, every single one of them has breathed heavily. Heavy breathing and rapid gill movement can be a sign of stress, if the Oscar isn't doing it,that is a good sign.

Personally, I would monitor the situation for the next two or three days and see what happens

I suspect your oscars problem is it is being bullied. You have a jack dempsey and a jaguar in that tank. Jack dempseys can be aggressive but you say he leaves the oscar alone. Jaguars grow to a foot long and they have a reputation for being aggressive. In fact i seem to have the only one i have heard about that isnt aggressive. It looks to me that your oscar is trying to stay out of the jaguars way and the easiest way to do so this is to flop on the floor. I have seen this is my own tank when one oscar decided to bully a smaller one.

Your tank is not big enough for all 3 fish. You might just get away with an oscar and the jd but it will require lots of water changes. As said before you tank dimensions are not ideal. Surface area is what matters when it comes to getting oxygen in the water, if your tank was twice and long and half as high (same volume) you get more oxygen in the tank.

You are also overfeeding your fish. Only feed what they will eat in 3 mins no matter how much they beg, oscars are professional beggars.

If the problem isnt bullying then the cause will almost certainly be poor water quality. You should get a test kit (the liquid ones) and test weekly for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Ammonia and nitrite should be zero and nitrate should be below 40 but ideally below 20. If nitrate is too high then do a water change

My advice would be to return the jaguar, get a testing kit and if needed do water changes to get the water quality good and feed less

!!!HE ATE TONIGHT!!!

I went to give him food and he came to the top snapped the water with his mouth, just as aggressive as ever. Still a little moping around a bit. He also is staying up right. I do not think he is out of the woods but this makes me feel a LOT better. My better half said the female and the Oscar been going in spurts where they would be laying side by side then they would get into it, but with no damage. Sort of like they are deciding a pecking order. The female how ever has been going after the Male jaguar too. Now all the fish have developed a twitch, and I do not know if this is because of the meds I put in the tank or what.

I noted from the pic you can not tell the sizes of the fish. All sizes are approximant kind of hard to hold up a ruler to them.

Oscar – 9”
Female jaguar – 7”
Male jaguar – 5”
JD – 4”

The Oscar is by far the biggest fish in the tank. The female jaguar (not sure if that is what they are but every one seems to be calling them that) close to the Oscar size in length she by no means has the build he does. He is by far the dominate one in the tank.

Just looked up a jaguar with google and yes that is what they look like. It says that they grow up to 22 to 25 inch? I think you are right the 66 gal may be toooo small.

There is also now is a lot of garbage floating around in the tank that I have not seen before. I do not want to do a water change yet because the meds are still in the water.

Any ideas on the twitch?
Also would a 200 gal tank keep them happy?

More pics at foribite.com/myfish.htm

Aggg my finger slipped and hit the Submit button twice.

The twitching is what oscars do when they are aggravated. They usually do it when they are side on to another fish (they also do it when going thro the breeding ritual). It seems to me your fish are learning to live a bit together

The garbage in the tank is waste materials and these will add to you nitrate reading. When did you last take the rocks out and clean the gravel. Have you tested the water yet? After doing a water change just redose with your medications in the equivalent amounts, so if you change 50% of the water, add a half dose of meds

If you have a male and a female jaguar they will start breeding soon. If they do your oscar will be in real trouble. They will defend the eggs and batter other fish. How do you know they are a male and a female. Someone once told me this about jags, a male and a female WILL breed, 2 males will fight and injure each other, 2 female will constantly bitch with each other. His advice was either have a pair and breed them or have just one